Norwich Easter egg hunt draws eager crowd

At 7, Juliette Savignac is already a veteran of the Easter egg hunt circuit. Armed on Saturday with a pink, plastic bucket covered in flowers and wearing a pair of sunglasses, the Yantic girl also arrived to Howard T. Brown Park in Norwich with a strategy to capture as many treats as she could. ...

At 7, Juliette Savignac is already a veteran of the Easter egg hunt circuit.

Armed on Saturday with a pink, plastic bucket covered in flowers and wearing a pair of sunglasses, the Yantic girl also arrived to Howard T. Brown Park in Norwich with a strategy to capture as many treats as she could.

“You have to look around in the bushes,” Juliette declared. Minutes later, with a haul of pastel-colored plastic eggs in hand, she cracked open a bright gold one and smiled.

“This is the one I wanted,” Juliette said.

Juliette and about 100 other children fanned across the park to snatch up more than 600 eggs strewn across the grounds during one of two major downtown Norwich Easter events held on Saturday.

The morning hunt was a collaboration between the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce, the Norwich Community Development Corp. and the Otis Library.

Organizers hoped the free event would draw a new demographic to the downtown area, and they handed out maps with the locations of eight restaurants within walking distance of the park.

“It can’t just be pub tours. It’s got to be a place where people can get together,” said NCDC Vice President Jason Vincent. “You need the ‘mom’ factor.”

Hannah Delorge, 7, showed up to the park with an oversized green plastic bag and pink straw hat.

“I like going through the bushes and then finding the eggs,” Hannah said.

A short distance away, the United Congregational Church on Broadway was buzzing with activity, as about 200 children turned out for the 16th annual Easter Party sponsored by community activist Liz Hall.

That event featured another egg hunt in the church’s playground, along with food and raffles for large Easter baskets.

“God has just put this on my heart,” Hall said. “In a thousand years, it won’t matter how much money I made or where I lived. What’ll matter is that I can put a smile on the faces of kids.”

Twins Vicky and Kristen Mather, who both turned 6 on Saturday, came to Hall’s party as part of their birthday celebration.

Kristen said she was looking forward to seeing the Easter bunny and joining other Norwich children in adding several plastic eggs to her collection.